Heston Kjerstad 2023

[interloper]

I mean, why is Fontana blocking Kjerstad at this point in AAA? 

[Frobby]

5 minutes ago, interloper said:

I mean, why is Fontana blocking Kjerstad at this point in AAA? 

Who said he is?  People have gotten so impatient about promotions lately.  The season’s not even two months old.  

[Mr-splash]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

I mean, why is Fontana blocking Kjerstad at this point in AAA? 

They're just looking for excuses to slow walk their prospects. Cowser is injured, but his play justified a promotion to the MLB. Kjerstad's play merits a promotion to AAA. And Holliday should be promoted to AA very soon. But being a small market team we can't just sign our homegrown guys at will when they approach free agency. The Yankees, Dodgers, etc. keep their homegrown players by simply throwing cash at them. Money talks and BS walks. 

[btdart20]

50 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Do they wait until Cowser is back and is moved up?  

48 minutes ago, RVAOsFan said:

I don't think its necessary, especially if HK is getting starts at 1B too.

Maybe not Cowser, but I think there needs to be some type of related move of some sort.  A guy like Lester or Diaz may be dealt so HK can continue getting 1B reps.  They are basically org filler/emergency depth here.  But could be something more in another org.

Westburg opened at AA last year and got 209 PAs (and a .817 OPS) before being promoted.  Unless there's something defensively with the 1B transition, HK should be pretty close.

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Who said he is?  People have gotten so impatient about promotions lately.  The season’s not even two months old.  

But it is 1/3 over. Depends on how you look at it I guess. Kjerstad and approx. a dozen other prospects are well deserving of a promotion. I'm not going nuts about it or anything, but Kjerstad is an extremely polished power bat who could be interesting off the bench on an expanded roster. It's time to see what he can do in AAA. Let him play alongside Cowser and the Orioles can take their pick depending on their needs late in the season. 

[RZNJ]

I think Lewin Diaz gets moved at some point.  I don’t see the O’s ever using him this year and that would open up a lot of reps in Norfolk even with Westburg and Cowser both on the roster.

[Bemorewins]

6 minutes ago, Mr-splash said:

They're just looking for excuses to slow walk their prospects. Cowser is injured, but his play justified a promotion to the MLB. Kjerstad's play merits a promotion to AAA. And Holliday should be promoted to AA very soon. But being a small market team we can't just sign our homegrown guys at will when they approach free agency. The Yankees, Dodgers, etc. keep their homegrown players by simply throwing cash at them. Money talks and BS walks. 

I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic or not with the signing of homegrown guys, 'throwing cash at them', and we are a small market talk. Because the truth is PIT, TB, and CLE (just to name some) have signed their 'own homegrown guys' to extensions. All of these owners are billionaires, (maybe not OAK not sure) there is none poor among them. The Orioles can sign players to extensions if the choose to. We don't have to wait until guys approach FA when most are likely to just wait and test the market. The time to get deals done is with early extensions. Look at all of the extensions a team like the Braves have done.

Part of the 'slow walking' of guys at the moment is that there is no place to put them currently with the log jam at the Major League level. Yes we could and should have been more proactive to prevent this by making better moves in the offseason. But as for now, nothing can be done until the deadline trading window opens up.

Some of our guys will be traded. Hopefully, not Cowser and probably not Kjerstad. But until that time comes, all we can really do is sit back and be patient until things play out. 

[Mr-splash]

3 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic or not with the signing of homegrown guys, 'throwing cash at them', and we are a small market talk. Because the truth is PIT, TB, and CLE (just to name some) have signed their 'own homegrown guys' to extensions. All of these owners are billionaires, (maybe not OAK not sure) there is none poor among them. The Orioles can sign players to extensions if the choose to. We don't have to wait until guys approach FA when most are likely to just wait and test the market. The time to get deals done is with early extensions. Look at all of the extensions a team like the Braves have done.

Part of the 'slow walking' of guys at the moment is that there is no place to put them currently with the log jam at the Major League level. Yes we could and should have been more proactive to prevent this by making better moves in the offseason. But as for now, nothing can be done until the deadline trading window opens up.

Some of our guys will be traded. Hopefully, not Cowser and probably not Kjerstad. But until that time comes, all we can really do is sit back and be patient until things play out. 

Angelos has money, but not that kind of money. He couldn't win a bidding war with the Mets, Yankees or Dodgers owner even IF he actually wanted to.

[Bemorewins]

11 minutes ago, interloper said:

But it is 1/3 over. Depends on how you look at it I guess. Kjerstad and approx. a dozen other prospects are well deserving of a promotion. I'm not going nuts about it or anything, but Kjerstad is an extremely polished power bat who could be interesting off the bench on an expanded roster. It's time to see what he can do in AAA. Let him play alongside Cowser and the Orioles can take their pick depending on their needs late in the season. 

It would be wonderful to be able to bring one of them up at the end of the season to give us a boast in the postseason. But the chances of that are VERY LOW. In today's game, even the very best (almost all of them) struggle to acclimate to the jump that is the Major Leagues. Look at Adley, Gunnar, Grayson, JRod, Witt Jr., etc... very few of even the ELITE talents come right up to the Majors and start killing it. And then when you add the increase level of competition and pressure of the postseason. The odds are VERY LONG that Cowser, Kjerstad or whoever can make that jump late in the season and be much of a difference maker or even a net positive in October.

[Bemorewins]

1 minute ago, Mr-splash said:

Angelos has money, but not that kind of money. He couldn't win a bidding war with the Mets, Yankees or Dodgers owner even IF he actually wanted to.

The Braves are not winning bidding wars, neither are the Rays, Guardians, etc.... What they are doing is being proactive and extending guys early. Sort of like the opposite of Angelos' quotes when he balked at the idea of an early Adley extension.

The Evil Angelos Empire has plenty of money. What I am not sure they have is all that much interest in the O's being as competitive as possible. John Angelos appears to have a lot of other competing priorities other than leading an organization that allows the Orioles to become World Series winners. Right now we are going to have to win despite him not because or even with him.

[wildcard]

I think Elias has three criteria for mastering a level to warrant a promotion.

1) Must be performing well

2) Have at least 200 PAs

3) There must be room at the next level

Kjerstad is only at 155 PA at Bowie this season.    He has a ways to go yet.   Probably the same with Holliday at Aberdeen.    Once they check the 200 PAs box it will be time to look at the other two boxes.

Westburg has passed 1 and 2 but 3 is holding him at AAA.

JMO

Edited May 23, 2023 by wildcard

[Bemorewins]

16 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I think Elias has three criteria for mastering a level to warrant a promotion.

1) Must be performing well

2) Have at least 200 PAs

3) There must be room at the next level

Kjerstad is only at 155 PA at Bowie this season.    He has a ways to go yet.   Probably the same with Holliday at Aberdeen.    Once they check the 200 PAs box it will be time to look at the other two boxes.

Westburg has passed 1 and 2 but 3 is holding him at AAA.

JMO

Holliday is in a separate category when compared to all the rest. What he is doing at the levels that he has been at is not comparable to any other Orioles prospect like ever (not even Adley or Manny). 

So it wouldn’t be prudent to use the same standard of measurement in him as opposed to others. His talent and incredible results are going to move him at a different speed than the others. And when it time for him to move regardless of who is in front of him, they will be moved to make room for him.

[Sports Guy]

 

[wildcard]

29 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

Holliday is in a separate category when compared to all the rest. What he is doing at the levels that he has been at is not comparable to any other Orioles prospect like ever (not even Adley or Manny). 

So it wouldn’t be prudent to use the same standard of measurement in him as opposed to others. His talent and incredible results are going to move him at a different speed than the others. And when it time for him to move regardless of who is in front of him, they will be moved to make room for him.

Maybe.   But the point of 200 PA is to see if he can continue to perform at a high level for a period of time.

[Bemorewins]

7 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Maybe.   But the point of 200 PA is to see if he can continue to perform at a high level for a period of time.

He passed “the high level” threshold a long time ago. He is in rarefied air territory now. The type of stuff that only has historic great comps.